Managing director Darcy Rezac remembers Thomas Bata who passed away September 1, 2008
By Darcy Rezac

L-R: Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, Sonja Bata, Board of Trade governor Daniel F. Muzyka and Tom Bata meet up in Beijing in 2005.  Photo: Darcy Rezac

There was no finer gentleman than Tom Bata, and his passing is a time to retell one of Canada’s most famous business stories. This classic tale of the two Bata Shoe Company salesmen who traveled to Africa to explore business opportunities is told in many marketing 101 classes.  It’s so famous that it has taken on a life of its own.  I had always wondered if it was simply part of the folklore surrounding one of the most amazing Canadian—and global—companies, or was it a true story?

I was an honorary captain in the Canadian Navy for ten years, and one day while sitting in the wardroom of HMSC Vancouver with a group of naval officers and a colleague, Honorary Captain Sonja Bata (Tom’s wife). I thought I’d ask her, ‘Sonja, that story about the two salesmen who traveled down the coast of Africa, is it true?” She said yes, it was.  And here is what she told us:

Darcy Rezac spotted an American Nash Ambassador car converted by Thomas Bata into a WW2 emergency ambulance now housed in the Duxford Airfield Museum outside Stansted, UK. Many private cars and commercial vehicles were converted in 1939-40 to use as emergency ambulances and this one was used at the Bata shoe factory in East Tilbury, Essex in 1939. It remained in use as the factory ambulance until 1976Photo: Gayle Hallgren-Rezac

In the 1950s, when the Bata Shoe Company was expanding, they sent representatives to Africa to see if that region represented a market for their shoes. One Bata representative went down the west coast, and another down the east coast. Both sent telexes back to Bata’s head office. One read, “No business opportunities here. No one wears shoes.” The other stated, “Lots of business opportunities here. No one wears shoes.”

Tom Bata was a business giant and I am sure there will be folks who will be tempted to say, "who could fit into those shoes?" It should be noted that in Tom’s case, it was sometimes two different shoes!

I bumped into Tom and Sonja at Zurich Airport a few years back and I noticed that Tom had mismatched shoes on his feet.  I had to ask, “Tom, why are wearing two different shoes?”  

He told me that whenever he visited a store abroad, he would buy two pairs of Bata shoes and put one on each foot for a day. He walked around all day with two different shoes on to test them.  Tom Bata  lived his motto, "To shoe the world. That he did, he walked the talk, two shoes at a time.

He will be missed.

Honorary Captains (Navy) Darcy Rezac and Sonja Bata.  Photo: Hon. Capt. (N) Cedric Steele

Darcy Rezac is managing director and chief engagement officer at The Vancouver Board of Trade. He is also author of Work the Pond! Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life, Prentice Hall 2005 (see BoardStore ) See Globe and Mail, 'Obituary Thomas Bata, 93'

Remembering Thomas Bata

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